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Tech titans will give senators advice on artificial intelligence in a closed-door forum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been talking for months about accomplishing a potentially impossible task: passing bipartisan legislation within the next year that encourages the rapid development of artificial intelligence and mitigates its biggest risks. On Wednesday, he’s convening a meeting of some of the country’s most prominent technology executives, among others, to ask them how Congress should do it.The closed-door forum on Capitol Hill will include almost two dozen tech leaders and advocates, and some of the industry’s biggest names: Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and X and Tesla’s Elon Musk as well as former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. All 100 senators are invited, but the public is not.Schumer, D-N.Y., who’s leading the forum with Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, won’t necessarily take the tech executives’ advice as he works with Republicans and fellow Democrats to try an...

The iPhone 12 emits too much radiation and Apple must take it off the market, a French agency says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A government watchdog agency in France has ordered Apple to withdraw the iPhone 12 from the French market, saying it emits levels of electromagnetic radiation that are too high.The National Frequency Agency, which oversees radio-electric frequencies as well as public exposure to electromagnetic radiation, called on Apple in a statement Tuesday to “implement all available means to rapidly fix this malfunction” for phones already being used.Corrective updates to the iPhone 12 will be monitored by the agency, and if they don’t work, “Apple will have to recall” phones that were already sold, according to the French regulator’s statement.Apple disputed the findings and said the device complies with all regulations governing radiation.The agency, which is known by the French acronym ANFR, said it recently checked 141 cellphones, including the iPhone 12, for electromagnetic waves capable of being absorbed by the body.It said it found a level of electromagnetic energy abs...

Patriots rookie Marte Mapu doesn’t know what position he’ll play, so he learned them all

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

FOXBORO — With great versatility comes great responsibility.Fortunately, Patriots rookie — linebacker? safety? rover? let’s go with defender — Marte Mapu is built for the task. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound hybrid played everywhere from linebacker to strong safety to free safety and on kick and punt return units in his NFL debut Sunday against the Eagles. He was on the field for 21 official snaps and made an impact with three tackles.Marte Mapu played 10 snaps last night, all toward the boundaryWas mostly used in a big nickel package with Dugger and Peppers where he'd play centerfielder on slot blitzes, linebacker in 3-4 looks, and as a hole defender in the low RZAlso played safety in 3-safety dime pic.twitter.com/W5vWUnirxI— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) September 11, 2023Patriots Pro Bowl pass rusher Matthew Judon has seen Mapu play on all three levels of the defense.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte moving past 4th-down error with this ad...

In a battle of electric SUVs, the Nissan Ariya takes on the Ford Mustang Mach-E

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

The Nissan Ariya is an all-new electric SUV for the 2023 model year. It’s Nissan’s second EV and serves as a roomier and more powerful complement to the brand’s pioneering Leaf hatchback. However, it’s also going up against many recently introduced SUV competitors, one of which is the Ford Mustang Mach-E.On sale since the 2021 model year, the Mustang Mach-E has earned praise from Edmunds’ experts for its performance, range and user-friendly controls. Which one of these small electric SUVs is the better buy? Edmunds compared them to find out.RANGE AND CHARGINGThe 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E and 2023 Nissan Ariya have a wide range of configurations to choose from. With the Mach-E, there are four main trim levels, two sizes of battery, and choice of rear- or all-wheel drive. The Mach-E’s EPA-estimated range varies from 224 miles upward to 312 miles on a single full charge. These are respectable numbers, and Edmunds found that the Mach-E can go considerably farther in its real-world range ...

UK economy shrinks in July amid bad weather and doctors’ strikes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The British economy shrank by 0.5% in July amid a series of strikes, particularly by doctors at the start of their careers, and unseasonably wet weather, official figures showed Wednesday.The Office for National Statistics said the strikes by so-called junior doctors weighed on health sector activity, while the sixth wettest July on record hit retailers after a buoyant June, when business was brisk as a result of warm weather.Most economists downplayed the prospect that the British economy would fall into recession as monthly growth figures have been yo-yoing up and down as of late. Still, growth is expected to stay tepid.James Smith, developed markets economist at ING, said a recession “can’t be ruled out” but that the economy “seems to be still growing, albeit fractionally.”Despite the July retreat, financial markets think it’s more likely than not that the Bank of England would raise interest rates again next week given that inflation of 6.8% is substantially ...

Fishery vessel will try to pull free cruise ship with 206 people on board in Greenland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Authorities said Wednesday that a fishery vessel will attempt to use the high tide to pull free a Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship carrying 206 people that ran aground in northwestern Greenland.Capt. Flemming Madsen from the Danish Joint Arctic Command told The Associated Press that those on board were doing fine and ”all I can say is that they got a lifetime experience.”A scientific fishing vessel owned by the Greenland government was scheduled to arrive later Wednesday and together with the high tide would attempt to pull the 104.4-meter (343-foot) long and 18-meter (60 foot) wide MV Ocean Explorer free. The cruise ship, 104.4 meters (343 feet) long and 18 meters (60 feet) wide, ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park — the world’s largest and most northerly national park, known for icebergs and the musk oxen that roam the coast.The Alpefjord sits in a remote corner of Greenland, some 240 kilometers (149 miles) aw...

Indonesian leader takes a test ride on Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo took a test ride Wednesday on Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway, a key project under China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.The $7.3 billion rail project, funded largely by China, connects the capital, Jakarta, and Bandung, the heavily populated capital of West Java province. It is to begin commercial operations on Oct. 1 and will cut travel time between the two cities from the current three hours to about 40 minutes.The 142.3-kilometer (88.4-mile) railway was constructed by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, known as PT KCIC, a joint venture between an Indonesian consortium of four state-owned companies and China Railway International Co. Ltd. The joint venture said the trains will be the fastest in Southeast Asia, with speeds of up to 350 kph (217 mph).Widodo toured the railway’s first station, Halim KCBJ in eastern Jakarta, and then rode the made-in-China bullet train to Bandung’s Padalarang station, one of...

EU chief announces major review saying the bloc should grow to over 30 members

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s chief executive said Wednesday that her services will launch a major series of policy reviews to ensure that the 27-nation bloc can still function properly as it invites in new members in coming years. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU must prepare to grow to more than 30 members. Ukraine, Moldova and countries in the Western Balkans are among those in line.Even at 27 strong, the world’s biggest trading bloc finds it difficult to make some decisions, particularly those requiring unanimous agreement. Hungary and Poland, notably, have come under fire from Brussels for democratic backsliding and they’ve routinely voted against foreign policy and migration decisions.Still, pressure is mounting for Europe to open its doors. Concerns have been raised about Russia’s influence in the Western Balkans, particularly in Serbia and Bosnia. Some countries in the region have waited for years to join and have sometimes seen prog...

USA Today is looking for a 'Taylor Swift reporter'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

(The Hill) - It's a job out of Swifties' wildest dreams: USA Today and The Tennesseean are searching for a "Taylor Swift reporter."As the job posting from their parent company Gannett details, the outlets are specifically seeking an "experienced, video-forward journalist to capture the music and cultural impact of Taylor Swift." "Swift's fanbase has grown to unprecedented heights, and so has the significance of her music and growing legacy," according to the posting. "Seeing both the facts and the fury, the Taylor Swift reporter will identify why the pop star’s influence only expands, what her fanbase stands for in pop culture, and the effect she has across the music and business worlds."Swift, 33, started her musical career in Nashville as a teenager and owns a home there.The Grammy-winning artist, one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, just wrapped up the first North American leg of her sold-out The Eras Tour. She's set to continue touring around the world in the coming month...

Hurricane Lee forecast to make turn Wednesday, brush Bermuda

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (WFLA) — Hurricane Lee whipped up waves of more than 15 feet as the Category 3 storm cranked through open waters just north of the Caribbean region.The storm is not expected to make landfall this week, although forecasters said residents of New England and nearby areas should keep a close eye on Lee, which was predicted to slowly turn northward later in the coming days. National Hurricane Center watching 2 hurricanes and 1 disturbance with 80% chance of formation The storm was located about 475 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and was moving northwest at 6 mph. A tropical storm warning is in effect for Bermuda. A turn toward the north-northwest is expected later Wednesday. The center said Lee is likely to pass just west of Bermuda on Thursday and Thursday night and be located offshore of the mid-Atlantic states and New England by the end of the week. “Although Lee is expec...